C.F. Martin & Co. Sigma Dreadnought DM-3S
by Doug Long
(Gabriola Island, BC, Canada)
Martin Sigma Dreadnought Guitar circa 1969
By Doug Long
I bought this Martin Sigma Dreadnought DM-3S guitar from Steve's Music Store, in Montreal, in 1969. It is in near-mint condition, with two tiny dings beneath the pickguard, neither of which breaks the surface of the finish.
It is 100% original, except for the 6 saddle pins. I still have three of the original (plain plastic) pins and the original case. The Neck Block Serial # is 811293 and the Body Serial # is 257251. The Model Number is DM-3S. It was made in Korea.
I had it professionally setup with new strings, saddle pins, dressed frets and a low action, in August, 2008. There is no fret buzz. The body provides great volume and sustain that goes on forever, even after stopping the strings.
It has 20 frets with no wear. The straight neck (with a single, steel truss rod) measures 24 1/4 inches long. The smooth and flawless fretboard measures 18 inches. The maximum body dimensions are 20 inches long, by 15 1/2 inches at its widest and 4 3/4 inches deep.
It has the rounded pegheads described by martinguitar.com in their Dreadnought history article: http://www.martinguitar.com/history/dreadnought.php?chptr=7
Dreadnought Story
Home > History > The Dreadnought Story
CHAPTER 5: The Tumultuous Mid-`60s
After the introduction of the D–35, Martin was faced with a dwindling supply of Brazilian rosewood and a quickly growing guitar market – folk music was booming. The newly imported Indian rosewood required more seasoning before it could be used. Consequently, Martin began cutting their remaining Brazilian rosewood logs differently to obtain more usable wood out of each log. By late 1969, the change to Indian rosewood was complete, with D–21 #254498 having the distinction of being the first official Indian rosewood guitar.
The changes didn’t stop there. Other familiar features disappeared as well. In 1967 the tortoiseshell–colored, nitrate–base plastic, which was used as body binding on D–18s, D–21s, and for pickguards on all Dreadnoughts, was replaced with a black, acetate–base plastic that was a considerably more stable material to use and store. The familiar ivory–colored (ivoroid) binding on D–28s and D–35s similarly was replaced with a newer, more stable material called Boltaron®.
Another change (albeit inadvertent) was the rounding of the top edges of the mid–’60s Martin pegheads. According to Longworth, who heard the story directly from C. F. Martin III, the original wood peghead template had become so worn from use that the square corners became rounded. Eventually a new metal template was made, and the peghead edges once again were square.
ANSWER
Hi, Doug--
Interesting article!
The Blue Book does not list the DM3 S. The DM2 and DM 4 are listed, but the DM3 is not. The other two models are priced between $135 AND 275. The unfortunate thing is that Sigma guitars are not really considered collectibles like the Martins.
Most people acknowledge the Sigmas to be very good starter guitars.
By the way, the Blue Book indicates that Martin did not start making Sigmas until 1970. I was able to find a couple of DM3 models on the internet selling for $100-150.
Lynne
